Sony Mobile today have given out some updates on the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich firmware that is currently being rolled. Unfortunately there is good news and bad news, so I will start with the good news first.

Android version 4.0.3 has been going around the globe for a month for the Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray and Xperia Neo V.

Xperia Arc, Xperia Neo, Xperia Mini, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Pro, Xperia Active and SE Live With Walkman will receive Android 4.0.4 from next week onwards. Realistically, this means that it will (probably) be released to the Nordic countries first, then hitting Europe and the UK at roughly the same time, followed by the rest of the world. It was also revealed that Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray and Xperia Neo V will also get the 4.0.4 update. No timeline was given for when this update would reach those handsets though.

As for the 2012 devices, the Xperia S will be getting ICS (we assume 4.0.4 but there was no mention of what version) from the end of June. The Xperia P will be next to receive ICS, but no date was given. The Xperia U will receive ICS in Q3.

Now the bad news: For those that have read this article, you will of noticed that I have not mentioned the Xperia Play. Unfortunately, the bad news is for you folks, as Sony Mobile has decided not to release ICS of any version for this phone. The reasoning for this is that the performance for games was not a “consistent and stable experience“. Sure, I could believe that, but it was said that the kernel would not be updated on the 2011 series as the devs that work for Sony Mobile (or under SE at the time) had worked very hard at that kernel. I can’t but feel that if they updated that then the Xperia Play might benefit from it the most.

That being the case, I would have to question whether the ICS update for the 2011 devices are going to be worth it. We heard Sony Mobile shooting themselves in the foot, and quickly correcting themselves. Are they sure that they have everything “optimized”? We would love your thoughts on this.

Source: Sony Mobile via XperiaBlog

Sony Xperia P is now available for preorder from themobilestore. The maximum retail price is mentioned as Rs 25799 but they are selling it for Rs 24499. The units will be available from 27 May and will be delivered within 4-6 working days. There is no official confirmation from Sony yet regarding the pricing and release dates of Xperia P but we hope the phone will be available in the Sony Centers by 27 May.

Source : themobilestore

Sony Mobile announced new partnerships with leading accessory brands like CaseMate, AGF, Incipio, Krusell, Dicota, Copter,Muvit, Roxfit, Orbyx and Shinnorie to provide quality cases and shells for their smartphones. The aforementioned companies are expected to announce exciting and stylish products for Xperia smartphones from mid-May.

Source : Sony Xperia Blog Portal

The basic purpose of a mobile phone is hassle less signal reception and it seems Sony Xperia P struggles. Xperia P suffers reception issue, as reported by Cnet Asia. When the handset is gripped in a certain way, the signal bar drops and it restricts data from being sent or received, but voice calls are not affected though.

Cnet says there is no problem outdoors where the signal is strong enough but the case is different when the signal is weak, that is when it’s indoors. They have added a video demonstrating the issue and its clear from the video that the issue is serious. They have already reported it to Sony.

Click here to view the embedded video.

UPDATE [16 May]

Another video pops up but this time there are NO issues whatsoever. So we can assume that not all the units but only a minority are affected.  I think Cnet tested one of the faulty devices.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source : Cnet Asia

The two brothers in the the Xperia NXT series along with Xperia sola will be available in Malaysia in the coming weeks. Along with the launch dates, Sony Mobile Malaysia has disclosed the pricing as well.

To be exact, Xperia U will be available in the market from 15 May for RM899 (€226). A car charger is also included in the package as a limited period offer. The phone will be available in black with either a pink or white cap and in white with a pink cap.

The company is releasing Xperia sola also on the same date as Xperia U, that is 15 May with a price tag of RM999 (€252). The package includes two SmartTags and a car charger.

Xperia P is scheduled for release on 23 May and will cost RM1,499 (€378). The recently announced Smart Headset is included in the package along with a car charger and two SmartTags (limited period offer).

Source : Soyacincau Via Xperiablog

A picture of another android powered smartphone from Sony surfaced today. The phone bears the code name ST26i. We have no details on the specs of this phone at this moment but from the picture leaked it is clear that Sony has made its mind to abandon the liquid energy logo which was the unique identity of Sony/Sony Ericsson phones. We hope the phone would release on ICS.

Source : GSMArena

Xperia U is the most awaited smart phone in India for it has a 1 GHz dual core processor and is expected to get a reasonable price tag in the country.  The transparent band on the Xperia U that can illuminate itself according to the prominent colors on the display is capable of grabbing some attention. Also the phone packs a 5MP rear camera (no Exmor R sensor),  a beautiful 3.5 inch display and 512 MB of RAM.

The Times of India reports that the phone is all set to release in India and will hit the stores around the country in two weeks. The phone is already available for pre order on letsbuy and flipkart for Rs. 17,399. Xperia U would sell like hot cakes since the price seems reasonable.

Also it is interesting that there is no information about Xperia P which was announced along with Xperia U.

Source : The Times of India

Xperia GX

Xperia GX has a 4.6” HD resolution screen, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 13MP camera with Sony Exmor R which will record videos on HD, 16GB of internal flash storage and will be released on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone copies the design language of Xperia arc and will be available in black and white variants.

Xperia SX

Xperia SX is the world’s lightest LTE smartphone weighing only 95 grams. The phone has a 3.7” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera with Sony Exmor R capable of HD video recording, 8GB internal flash storage, Japanese specific features such as infrared port data exchange, mobile wallet and mobile TV. Xperia SX will also be released on Ice Cream Sandwich and you can select either a black or white variant.

Sony Introduces more Media Applications on Xperia GX and Xperia SX

• The new Walkman application integrates signature high quality audio technologies such as clear stereo, clear bass, VPT surround sound, manual equalizer and xLOUD.
• The Album application will now enable blazing fast sorting and browsing of  high quality photos and videos and allowing them to share on Facebook.
• The Movies application streamlines the playback and viewing of movies in high quality audio and video with intelligent database search to discover more info about the movie for a rich and immersive experience.

The LTE enabled smart phones will give you download speeds up to 75mbps. The phones are expected to be available in the summer.

Source : Sony Mobile Press release

Announced in January, Xperia ion was initially an LTE smart phone for the US market. After a month of its announcement, news emerged that the phone is to be available to the rest of the world as well. Anyway, there has not been an official statement from Sony regarding the release dates of Xperia ion till date.

Now we have a vague idea about the release date of the LTE smart phone from Sony. A Google ad says that the phone is all set for its release in the United States this June. The phone will be carrier bound to AT&T. The ad says, “Coming Exclusively to AT&T in June”.

Source: Xperiablog

It has been 3 months since the Xperia P announcement in MWC 2012 and it’s time to watch the sample videos recorded with the smart phone. If you are not aware of it already, Xperia P has an 8MP camera with Exmor R sensor and it is capable of recording videos at 1080p. Here we have two videos ; one recorded at 1080 p and the other at 720 p. The videos look good and the Sony 8MP shooter once again proves that it is one of the best available on a phone.

Sony Xperia P 1080p sample

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sony Xperia P 720p sample

Click here to view the embedded video.

Note* Make sure to adjust the resolution to the appropriate one before viewing the videos.

Source : Youtube